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Four Ways to Grill Without a Grill

N o grill? No problem. Here are four ways to "grill" indoors that won't (er, shouldn't) require a visit from the fire marshal.

1. Rediscover your broiler: Think of your broiler as an upside-down grill. Instead of heat coming from the bottom, it comes from the top. While you won't get those pretty grill marks (or the smoky flavor you'd get from charcoal), you can usually achieve a decent char. Most quick-cooking grilled recipes will work well with the broiler (low and slow recipes with indirect heat won't work with the broiler's intense heat, though).

Some ovens only have a broiler drawer, but if your broiler is actually in your oven cavity, set your rack anywhere from 4 to 8 inches from the heat, depending on how quickly you want the food to cook (4 inches away is like high to moderately high heat on the grill).

Regardless of the type of broiler you use, arrange the food on the broiler pan that comes with the oven (it has ridges so excess fat drips down into a lower cavity) or on a sturdy rimmed baking sheet. If you're not a big fan of scrubbing, line the pans with foil first.

As you broil, leave the oven door slightly ajar and check the food frequently to make sure it doesn't burn. Pull out the pan and flip the food once halfway through. Most steaks and chops usually cook within 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Score a grill pan: A cast-iron grill pan has ridges, so the fat drips off and away from the food and, if it's hot enough, gives you great-looking grill marks. Grill pans are heavy and take up space so they might not be ideal for the tiniest kitchens. The good news: They are inexpensive (a good cast-iron one will usually run you $33). Like the broiler, grill pans work best for quick-cooking recipes and won't really give food a smoky flavor. Recipes to try: Steak with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce (at top) and Pan-Grilled Paillards of Duck

3. Use smoky ingredients: Adding smoky ingredients to food is, perhaps, the easiest way to fake a grilled flavor and you can use them with the two methods above. Sprinkle smoked salt or smoked paprika on meat or fish, drizzle vegetables with smoked olive oil or add chipotle chiles (whole, in powder form or canned) to sauces and marinades. And, of course, there's always the old faithful, liquid smoke. Just use it sparingly to keep food from tasting like it came out of an ashtray.

4. Rig an indoor smoker: Ok, so smoking isn't grilling. There, we said it. But if you're craving the haunting, pervasive smoky flavor—and not the char-of a charcoal grill or smoker, you can achieve that indoors, within reason.

But you don't even have to invest in special equipment. Just use this DIY method: First, open a window or turn on a fan.

Next, line a wok or disposable aluminum pan with heavy-duty foil, the spread out small dry hardwood chips (such as applewood) on top. Top the chips with another sheet of foil and then a rack. Cover your rack with foil and poke holes in the top.

Set the rigged smoker over a burner set to high heat. When smoke starts to rise at an even rate from the pan, arrange the food you want to smoke on the rack (stick with sliced vegetables, fish fillets and smaller pieces of meat) and cover the "smoker" tightly with foil. Smoke for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then uncover, remove the food from the smoker and cook it as you normally would (like, perhaps under the broiler or in a grill pan).